Amanda Knox ‘may be responsible’ says judge

PERUGIA, Italy - The senior judge in the Meredith Kercher murder appeal has caused excitement in the Italian media by claiming that Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito "may be responsible" for Meredith's death but that there was not enough proof to hold up their convictions.
 
In shockingly frank interviews broadcast on TG1 yesterday evening, and in the Italian press this morning, Judge Claudio Pratillo Hellman said Rudy Guede, the Ivory Coast immigrant found guilty in a separate trial of taking part in Meredith's murder, "knows the truth and it's possible the defendants [Knox and Sollecito] do as well".

The 69-year-old judge went on: "They may be responsible. But there's no proof."

The Corriere della Sera quoted Hellmann as saying that the verdict handed down on Monday was "the result of the truth that was created in the proceedings. But the real truth can be different".
 
The dramatic admission has added fuel to the debate still raging in Italy over the quashing of Knox and Sollecito's murder convictions.

Knox returned on Tuesday to Seattle to widespread support and celebration in the United States, where the decision was hailed as just and a long-time coming.

Italian correspondents reporting from the US have given their readers detailed descriptions of the scene in Seattle. La Repubblica reported half-price drinks at one bar and a deli in the university district offering 'Amanda's Free' sandwiches - a croissant with rosemary, prosciutto, mayo, lettuce and tomatoes.

But here in Italy, the images of the young American being driven out of Capanne prison in a darkened Mercedes, put on a plane and less than 48 hours later being given a "hero's welcome" in Seattle, have triggered indignation in some quarters.

There are Italians – especially in Perugia – who feel justice was not done on Monday. They were represented by the crowds shouting "Shame, shame" outside the Perugia courthouse, complaining that Rudy Guede, the simple black immigrant, was left carrying the can while the American girl and the rich Italian boy got off.

And Rudy Guede himself feels indignant, according to La Repubblica. He is serving a 16-year jail sentence for a murder he has always denied (he said he was in the bathroom when he heard Meredith's screams) and now he wants to know why he's the "only one left to pay... I want to yell at my lawyers, everyone... They were found innocent and I am still here".

He will apparently get his chance to yell at his lawyers when they meet to discuss his situation on Saturday amid calls from some people that his case should now be reheard.

Meanwhile, the implications of Hellman's decision to fully acquit Knox and Sollecito have been bandied back and forth by the Italian papers, talk shows - and politicians.  

The heated tones prompted the Supreme Magistrates' Commission to warn yesterday against allowing the Knox verdict to become political, but it's too late.

As The First Post predicted last week, Silvio Berlusconi's allies have held up the quashing of the original murder conviction as proof that Italian magistrates have too much power and should be reined in.

In their view, the claims that the Italian prime minister paid for sex with a minor - the nightclub dancer Ruby Rubacuori - are ludicrous, and further proof that Italian law is an ass. ·